


Sol

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-26
Updated: 2017-10-14
Packaged: 2018-08-11 03:56:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7875250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anne returns from Pandoria a changed woman.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue- Darkness Falls

Anne knew that something was wrong when it got dark. Pandoria was an ever-changing place, but the bright pink light was constant. The only darkness in the place came from the dark creatures that roamed the landscape.

So when she woke up to find that it was dark, Anne was initially confused. Had the glaring pink light gone out somehow? Was she actually free and at home? But if she was, wouldn’t she feel different? She’d been frozen for two years, after all.

She didn’t feel different. Not hungry, not thirsty, not tired. Just… cold. Maybe she was actually freezing, or Pandoria had shifted her to a colder region. But the ground wasn’t cold. And yet Anne could see her breath in front of her. She shivered. Something was going on.

Anne had been called many things, but she’d never been called a coward. She took a few steps in the new darkness, hoping that she wasn’t walking towards a ravine. And that she wouldn’t twist her ankle, because that would be a death sentence. She had to be able to run from the Shadow Seekers, after all.

Anne’s footsteps crunched on the tiny pink gravel, the only sound apart from the roaring wind. She didn’t know why Pandoria sounded so windy all the time, because the air was still. Physics just didn’t work here, except for gravity. That worked for her, at least, and for that she was glad. She didn’t think she’d be able to handle floating through the nightmare realm. Pegasus mount or not, Anne liked to have her feet on solid ground, thank you very much.

A flash of red in front of her was all the warning Anne got before the howling, growling sounds of Shadow Seekers closed in on her. She couldn’t run, couldn’t defend herself, couldn’t even call for help. Because who would help her here? Nobody was here, nobody who could help her, anyway.

Anne’s own screams were lost in the screaming sounds of the Shadow Seekers. She had a moment to realise that the screaming of the Shadow Seekers was just the screams of their victims, and then darkness enveloped her.

The vague chill felt like it was stabbing into Anne’s bones, turning her blood into shards of ice. The shadows felt tangible as they passed through her, slicing through skin and bone and muscle. She swore that she could smell blood. She begged for something, anything, to stop the pain. It felt like claws were under her skin, leaving pain and coldness in their wake. Anne screamed until she lost her breath and darkness took her and pulled her under.

It was dark when Anne woke up. She just curled up on the ground and cried.


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anne returns to Jorvik.

Anne wasn’t even aware that she’d slept, but things had changed by the time she opened her eyes. Most importantly, she could feel a presence in her mind.

“Concorde?” she called into the pinkness. “Is that you?”

 _“No. I am not your horse.”_ Anne reeled back in surprise. That voice sounded like…

“Oh no,” said Anne. “Have I finally gone crazy?”

_“No. You are most certainly not crazy. Refined people do not go crazy, Anne. You know this.”_

“Yes, I do know this,” said Anne, nodding. “So you must be related to my power then, right?”

_“Yes. I guess you could say that I am your power.”_

“Really? But then why did you never talk to me before?” asked Anne.

_“I never had reason to. Think of me as your guardian angel.”_

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I am perfectly capable of looking after myself,” said Anne hotly.

_“Oh, really?”_

Anne suddenly felt the ground give out beneath her as the memory of the attack replayed in her mind. The terror, the all-consuming coldness, the shadows raking her arms. The feeling that nothing would ever be okay again. When her ears stopped ringing, she realised that she was curled in a ball on the ground with her hands over her ears. And that she was screaming. She looked around carefully, but it was safe. It had just been a memory.

“Why did you show me that?” asked Anne, trembling with tears in her eyes as she got to her feet.

_“I needed to show you what I saved you from. So that you’d know that you need me.”_

“Okay, fine, so maybe I do need you,” said Anne. “Just don’t show me that again. Please.” She wiped the tears from her eyes and swallowed, wincing at the pain of her throat.

_“I won’t. I want to protect you, Anne.”_

“What should I call you, voice in my head?” asked Anne. She felt crazy, but maybe this place had broken her. She didn’t care. Maybe the voice in her head would help her escape this place.

_“Well, I am your power, so you can call me… Sol Invictus.”_

“The Unconquered Sun?” said Anne, and snorted. “You must be me, that’s exactly what I’d name you.”

_“Yes, I am you. And I will help you escape from here.”_

That had been too easy. Far too easy. Perhaps all that waiting would end up being worth it. Sol told Anne where to go, and then settled in to rifle through her brain. Maybe there was something else in here that Sol could use.

Anne stood in front of the massive stone castle, trying not to be too impressed. So she’d been left to wander while Concorde had been locked up in this beautiful place.

 _“He isn’t in the castle,”_ Sol corrected her. _“Your darling Concorde is being kept in the dungeons.”_

“Shadow Seekers,” Anne whispered, hearing them in the distance. She began to tremble, and Sol took her chance.

_“May I? I can perform magic that those druids didn’t teach you yet.”_

“Go ahead,” said Anne. She wasn’t strong enough to rescue Concorde, but Sol was.

Sol shattered the bricks of Concorde’s prison, then smiled at the horse. Concorde shied away, eyes wide and wings spread to make a quick getaway. Anne pushed forward, and Sol lost her control.

“Concorde, don’t be afraid. It’s me, your princess,” said Anne, stepping towards her mount.

“Princess, you’re on fire,” said Concorde.

“What?” asked Anne, looking down at her hands. “No I’m not.” And then she saw her hair and screamed.

_“I am sorry. I had to alter your appearance in order to unlock your true powers. Please don’t be angry. I promise you that the flames are just for show, they will not hurt your steed.”_

Anne relayed this message to Concorde, and he allowed her to embrace him.

“Come on, boy, let’s get out of here,” said Anne.

The castle had become surrounded by Shadow Seekers in the time that Anne had been inside with Concorde. She hid behind the shattered remnants of the front wall, heart pounding.

_“I can help you, but I need to change your horse.”_

“Do it,” said Anne, tears sliding down her face.

When Anne was herself again, she saw shadows dissipating. Her head was beginning to pound, and her mouth felt so dry. She looked down at Concorde, trying to take deep breaths.

Sol began to think that she’d underestimated just how scared Anne already was. Maybe scaring her like that had been a bad idea. Or maybe… maybe it would help her. After all, a scared host was far more willing. She barely needed to ask, and Anne just allowed her to take control.

“What did you do to Concorde?” Anne rasped, wishing for a drink. But she couldn’t drink Pandorian water, it was undrinkable.

_“I had to change him, like I told you. He is much stronger now.”_

“But he’s ugly,” said Anne. She found, to her discomfort, that the tears sizzled on her cheeks. “What have you done?”

_“I saved you. Sacrifices must be made in order to be safe, Anne.”_

Anne didn’t reply. She was too busy taking in Concorde’s new appearance. His hooves seemed to burn, his mane was made of flaming embers, and his tail spread out behind him in a waving flag of flame. Both mane and tail were white-hot. And his fur was gone, replaced instead by leathery skin. This extended to his wings, which were large bat wings with hooked claws on the tips.

“Concorde,” Anne whispered. “I’m so sorry.”

The horse had screamed awfully when Sol had changed him. But instead of burning to death, he’d instead become this. Sol could almost feel sorry for him, seeing the loving embrace that his rider gave him. But he was more powerful now. A little pain and fear was worth power.

Sol didn’t need to tell Anne how to create a portal. She knew how to do it, and how to ride her horse through it. And then, on the other side, Anne knew exactly what to do. She tapped into her new powers and set everything on fire.

The snow turned to steam beneath Concorde’s newly-cloven hooves as Anne rode him into Silverglade. Snowflakes hissed on her skin and turned to rain when they came into contact with her flaming hair. She had to reign the power in somehow, had to… had to…

It was Sol who walked into Silverglade Village. Past the fountain, with its bubbling water. Anne took over at the sound of the water, dunking her head into the cool water and giving the ducks a fright and a few singed feathers. She didn’t care that ducks swam in it. Didn’t care that she was making a scene. She was just so. Damn. Thirsty.

Anne wiped her mouth as she walked up the stairs, past the post office. It was closed now, as everything was in the middle of the night. But she didn’t notice that. Her eyes were set on the snowman. On the hat on its head.

Anne picked up the hat and placed it on her wet hair. It was blessedly cool, and it felt right. She closed her eyes, at peace at last. The cold night air soothed her burning skin, and she sat with her back against the back wall of the post office. Concorde came to stand next to her, and she patted his nose. He laid down beside her, unable to change back to normal like she could. Anne rested her arm on his neck and slept.


	3. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anne struggles with Sol, and reunites with her girlfriend.

Anne’s stomach twisted when she woke up to screaming. Had all that been a dream? Was she back in Pandoria? But no. No. The light around her was not bright enough, nor was it pink enough. The ground beneath her was not the pink and purple stones of Pandoria. And there was a man in front of her screaming. Her mind had to work to remember him. Gosh, it had been ages.

“Derek?” said Anne, sitting up and trembling. “Is it really you?”

“What is that thing?” asked Derek, pointing a trembling finger at the thestral behind her.

“You mean Concorde?” Anne asked.

“That’s not the pretty horse I photographed,” said Derek.

“Well, in case you haven’t noticed, I’ve changed since then,” said Anne. “I’ve been… lost. For a while.”

“Yeah, I tried to ask the druids about it so I could help find you but they didn’t tell me anything,” said Derek.

“Why would you do that?” asked Anne. “You’re not my boyfriend anymore.”

 _“He’s not?”_ asked Sol. Anne’s stomach churned at the voice. Right. She was still there.

“Are you okay?” asked Derek. “You’ve gone kinda pale.”

“I’m fine,” said Anne, and promptly threw up on his shoes.

“Yeah, you sure look it,” said Derek with a grimace. “Let’s get you inside.”

“I’m so sorry,” Anne whispered, her hands over her mouth. She felt like she might throw up again.

“Come on, I’ll take you inside and get you cleaned up,” said Derek, extending a hand to help her up. Anne took it, even as her face paled and her gorge rose in her throat. She hoped that she wouldn’t throw up on him again.

She made it to the bushes outside Derek’s home before she was retching again. She didn’t know why she felt so sick. Shivers wracked her body, and she wrapped her arms around herself. Maybe she was dying. Maybe she’d been in Pandoria for so long that fresh air and water were poison to her. Maybe she’d made it so far, only to starve to death or catch some horrible disease and die.

_“No. Your human body is just weak, and waking up after a long slumber,” said Sol. “Allow me to take over, I can fix it.”_

“No,” said Anne, forgetting that she wasn’t alone. “I just need a shower and maybe some more water. I’ve probably just caught a cold from sleeping out in the snow while wet.”

“Who are you talking to?” asked Derek.

_“A common cold? Oh, Anne, you’re greater than that. Let me deal with the cold.”_

“I know how to fix a cold! I don’t need you to help me with that,” said Anne. “I just needed you to help me get out of there. You can leave now, Sol.”

 _“But I’m not done yet. You are destined for greater things, Anne. You always knew this,”_ said Sol, her voice a purr.

“I never wanted power,” said Anne. “I just wanted to get free.”

 _“You can’t get rid of me, Anne. Not on your own. Like I said, you’re a weak, powerless human without me.”_ Anne shivered at Sol’s words.

“I need to see the druids,” said Anne, finally turning to Derek.

“I think you should shower first,” said Derek. “Shower, get changed. You’ll feel better, you always do.”

“How do you know that?” asked Anne. Suddenly, she couldn’t remember anything about Derek. Her blood ran cold.

 _“I can control your mind, Anne. It would be better for you if you did what I wanted you to do,”_ said Sol.

“Okay, I’ll shower,” said Anne. Maybe she could wrest back her mind while she showered. And maybe, if she looked more like herself, she could feel more like herself.

The hot water, mercifully, did everything Anne wanted it to. It warmed skin that she hadn’t realised was cold, and seemed to revive her soul. She closed her eyes, and then opened them to see pink water running down the drain. Her skin was steaming. Why was her skin steaming?

“Because you’re in a hot shower,” she reminded herself. She didn’t know why Derek had such nice-smelling soaps. Maybe he had a new girlfriend. It wasn’t like she could remember. Had she lived here with him? No, she hadn’t. She’d lived in hotel rooms, though she’d wanted to live somewhere else. She remembered wanting to be able to portal anywhere, so she could… so she could…

“Live with Alex but still tour the world,” said Anne. Thinking about her girlfriend sent a rush of heat through her, and Anne wrapped her arms around herself. Alex. She’d been missing her for years. Even before she’d become trapped in another dimension. She remembered a phone call, and pain, and tears. But not just pain for herself. She’d promised Alex that she’d never hurt her. But she had, hadn’t she? She’d abandoned her, and then been banished to another dimension. She would not let Sol hurt her. Nor would she let her get at those precious memories.

Sol recoiled from the bright wall of solar fire around the memories. She could not touch these. She was pure solar fire, but this fire… it was Anne’s true power. If only she could draw that out.

Anne felt a lot better with her body clean. Derek had left her some clean clothes, though she wasn’t sure where he’d gotten them from. Maybe he did have a new girlfriend. She didn’t care. She hadn’t even thought about him since high school, honestly. Not since she’d gotten together with Alex, anyway.

In the process of getting dressed, Anne caught sight of herself in the bathroom mirror and froze. What had happened to her? She was so thin. Her cheekbones seemed sharp, her eyes looked hollow, and her elbows and knees were prominent. She’d always desired a thin frame, but not like this. Derek had given her a sweater, at least, so she could hide her thin frame. She used to have curves.

 _“I could give you the body you want without any nourishment,”_ said Sol. _“It would be no effort on your part. No dieting, no working out. Just a perfect body.”_

“No,” said Anne, frowning at her reflection. “Go away.” She didn’t want to look at it anymore. So she turned away and continued getting dressed.

Once dressed, Anne walked out of the bathroom and into Derek’s cooler house. She shivered, wrapping her arms around herself. It was a little house. Photographs were hung on the walls, most likely ones he’d taken himself. Anne walked into the living room, where she found that an audience awaited her. She knew she was pale, but now she felt like she was about to pass out. She swayed, and Derek caught her and helped her into an armchair.

“So you really are back,” said one of the robed druids. “That is good.”

“Where’s Alex?” asked Anne. “And my other friends.”

“We want to examine you first,” said another robed druid.

“No,” said Anne. “Where is my girlfriend?” Her hands burned. She could smell something burning, but she didn’t care.

“Anne, you’ve been through a great ordeal,” said a druid. It was so hard to tell them apart with their robes. Why did they have to wear the stupid things?

“I’ve noticed,” Anne snapped. Something was crackling. “Take me to my girlfriend.” Rage was building in her. They were keeping her from what she wanted. They had to pay.

“Your appearance has changed,” a druid noted. “As has the appearance of your Soul Steed. You may have been infected with darkness.”

“She’s also been talking to herself,” said Derek. “Do you know why that might be?”

“It’s definitely very bad,” said a druid. “She needs to be looked at.”

“I don’t care! I just want Alex!” Anne screamed at them, and got to her feet. Her head was burning, and she knew that Sol was on the verge of taking over again.

_“Yes, show them your anger. Make them pay.”_

Instead, Anne fled. She ran outside, leaving flames in her wake. Concorde was standing outside, waiting for her. She mounted him and took to the sky, his leathery wings beating through the air that whipped her own flaming tresses. Anne hugged him around the neck, not caring about proper riding form right now. She had to find Alex, and then everything would be okay.

Anne spotted a flash of gold, and Concorde flew down towards it. She’d recognise that golden mane anywhere. The pony backed up a few steps, afraid of the monstrous form before him.

“Tin Can, it’s me,” said Anne. “It’s Anne. Alex’s girlfriend. You know me.”

“What happened to your horse?” asked Tin Can.

“He was changed,” said Anne. “To be stronger. To be better. And so was I.”

“Stronger? Better? That sounds like something Dark Core would do,” said Tin Can. “How do I know you are who you say you are?”

“The last time Alex and I spoke, we had an argument,” said Anne. “And I’ve regretted it ever since. When I came home, the first thing I wanted to do was reunite with my girlfriend. Please don’t stop me from doing that.” She wouldn’t hurt him, that would be the same as hurting Alex. Sol threatened to, but Anne ignored her.

“She’s around the back of the winery,” said Tin Can.

“Thank you,” said Anne. “Concorde, stay here and talk to Tin Can.” She hoped he could still talk. He hadn’t spoken to her in so long. Maybe his transformation had gotten rid of his soul or something. Or Sol had severed the link.

 _“I didn’t,”_ said Sol. Once again, Anne ignored her. And then, Alex was there, and Sol vanished completely.

“Anne?” said Alex, rising from her seat at a picnic table, and Anne nodded and fell into her arms.

“Yes, it’s me,” said Anne, unable to stop smiling. She also couldn’t stop the tears streaming down her cheeks. “I’m so sorry I argued with you.”

“No, I’m sorry,” said Alex. “I’m sorry I didn’t do more to look for you.”

“Did you look?” asked Anne, pulling away slightly to look at her girlfriend. Alex looked different, her hair longer and a tunic and tights replacing her former baggy pants and sports shirt.

“Yes,” said Alex. “I looked everywhere. For you and Lisa. And Linda. And Meteor. They took all of you. They were picking us off one by one.” Anne felt a flare of anger that awakened Sol. They’d hurt her girlfriend. They needed to die.

But then Alex was kissing her, and the passion from the rage was channelled into something else. Something better. Kissing. And touching and biting and murmuring.

“We should go inside,” Alex whispered.

“I don’t want to leave you,” said Anne.

“Then I’ll carry you inside,” said Alex. “We’ll never be apart again, Anne. I promise.” She kissed her again, and Anne felt the fear fade.

Alex wasn’t disgusted by Anne’s thinner form. She did frown in concern, but she knew that Anne needed this more than she needed her worry. At least, right now.

Anne slept after their lovemaking, more content than she’d been in a long time. Alex’s arms were around her, and feelings of warmth suffused her. Even if her clothing was on the floor. She hadn’t wanted to get dressed, exhausted after just one round. Alex kept rubbing Anne’s forehead and making concerned noises.

When Anne woke up, Alex was still gently rubbing her forehead and fussing over her. Anne kissed her again, just pleased to be with her again.

“I thought I’d never see you again,” said Anne.

“I knew we’d be reunited again someday,” said Alex.

“You always did have faith,” said Anne. There was a tickling in her throat, and she coughed.

“I think I should take you to the druids,” said Alex.

“No,” said Anne. “They’ll lock me up, they’ll do tests on me, they’ll take me away from you.”

“No they won’t, I won’t let them,” said Alex.

 _“Yes they will,”_ Sol whispered. Tears stung Anne’s eyes. Why wouldn’t Sol just go away?

“Hey,” said Alex, holding her crying girlfriend. “Hey, what’s wrong? I’ll make them let me see you, or I’ll find a way.”

“Because there is something wrong with me,” said Anne. “I-“ But then, she was overcome by a coughing fit. She couldn’t breathe, and there was nothing in her throat, but she could feel Sol’s burning presence.

 _“Shh. Don’t tell them about me, princess. They’ll take me away. Make you weak.”_ Anne shuddered, knowing that Sol would do everything in her power to stay rooted in her mind.

“You’re sick,” said Alex. “I mean, physically. Come on, I’ll take you to the vet.”

“The vet?” said Anne, offended. “Come on, Alex, are you telling me that you can’t take me to a nice human doctor in Jorvik City?”

“The vet is closest, okay?” said Alex.

“Alright,” said Anne. “But just this once.”

They rode to Silverglade Village, and Anne suddenly remembered the fire in Derek’s living room. She felt a pang of regret. She hoped that she hadn’t burnt his house down, or hurt him. He’d done nothing wrong. Except call the druids. But he didn’t deserve to have his house burnt down.

“Alex, doctors exist, you know,” said the vet when she opened the door. “Oh, Anne. I didn’t realise you were back.”

“Does she know where I was?” Anne asked as the vet led them in.

“No, but she knows it had something to do with the Soul Rider stuff,” said Alex. “She patched up Tin Can and I after last winter.”

“What happened last winter?” Anne asked.

“A horrible winter,” said Alex. “Our enemies started a catastrophic winter. Nearly everything died, and the bridge broke. But that was only partly from the winter.”

“You sound guilty,” said Anne, looking at her girlfriend.

“I kind of had a big fight with Sabine on it,” said Alex.

“Oh, Alex,” Anne sighed, but wrapped an arm around her girlfriend and kissed her on the cheek. “Don’t ever change.”

“I’m glad you like her antics,” said the vet. “Come on then, Anne. Up on the examination table.”

“Okay,” said Anne, and sat there. Alex still held her hand, but put her hand on Anne’s knee when the vet had to move Anne’s arms.

“God, you’re skin and bones,” said the vet. “And you smell burnt.”

“You try looking good after being stuck in hell for two years,” said Anne.

“Sorry,” said the vet. “But you are very malnourished. Alex, keep her hydrated and well-fed.”

“I can look after myself,” said Anne. “I’ve also been sick and shivery and coughing.”

“You’ve probably caught a cold, it is winter, after all,” said the vet. “Go home and get plenty of rest, food and fluids, and you’ll be fine.”

“Thank you,” said Anne.

“And these might help as well,” said the vet, writing down something on a notepad. “Vitamins. You’ll need to take those like they’re candy.”

“Alright,” said Anne.

“I’ll see if I can find some natural remedies,” said Alex.

“You do that, but in the meantime, vitamins,” said the vet. “And go easy on food at first. You’ve clearly been starved. Maybe try with liquids and work up to solids. And a little at a time.”

“I will,” said Anne. At least, if nothing else, she could get her physical health back on track.

Alex’s phone rang as they were walking out of the vet’s.

“It’s Elizabeth,” said Alex. “I don’t really wanna answer.”

“I guess you’d better,” said Anne. “Or they’ll end up on the doorstep.”

“And we really don’t want that,” said Alex, taking her girlfriend’s hand. She answered the phone. “Hey, Elizabeth.”

“Alex, is Anne with you?” Elizabeth asked.

“Yeah,” said Alex. “Where else would she be?”

“Be careful,” said Elizabeth. “I don’t suppose you’ll bring her to us?”

“She’s sick, Elizabeth. I need to look after her,” said Alex.

“She may be dangerous,” said Elizabeth.

“What do you mean?” asked Alex.

“We believe that she may have escaped via the Dark Portal,” said Elizabeth. “There is currently nothing left of the headquarters.”

“Oh,” said Alex. “What happened to it?”

“It was obliterated,” said Elizabeth. “By fire.” Anne looked at her girlfriend, remembering the flaming mane and tail of Concorde. She worried for her girlfriend. But maybe it would be okay.


	4. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anne finally talks to the druids, but it doesn't go as planned.

Anne spent most of her time in Alex’s bed at the manor, sleeping in an attempt to regain her strength. Alex made her soup, only chicken noodle at first, but she gradually added more ingredients.

“Did you expect to be looking after me after I was rescued?” asked Anne, leaning against her girlfriend.

“Honestly? Yeah, I did,” said Alex. “Meteor and Lisa were weak when they returned, so I expected the worst. But who did rescue you?”

“I rescued myself,” said Anne, the lie coming easily. Sol sent a wave of warmth through her in approval. She’d been silent lately, especially when Alex was so close and Anne’s heart was so full of love. That was part of the reason why Anne spent all her time with Alex.

“I thought you might,” said Alex. She wanted to bring up what had happened at Dark Core HQ, but she thought that it would only upset her girlfriend. And anyway, it was a good thing. Justin had been rescued, so it wasn’t like anyone important had been harmed.

“I am glad that the druids haven’t tried to call me again yet,” said Anne.

“I told them, in no uncertain terms, to piss off and let you rest,” said Alex. Anne laughed, then coughed until Alex handed her a glass of water.

“Thank you,” said Anne, sipping her water. “Perhaps I will feel up to telling my story once I’ve recovered.”

“Yeah, well, Lisa and Meteor came back in summer,” said Alex. “But you arrived with the snow.”

“How poetic,” said Anne, looking down at her thin hands. “The sun, which rarely appears in winter, has come back in it.” She looked up at Alex, smiling as her girlfriend cupped her hands over Anne’s hands.

“Kinda lame but you brought the light back into my life,” said Alex. Anne smiled and kissed her cheek.

“That’s not lame at all,” said Anne. “You’re the light in my life too, Alex. Your love, it… it gives me strength.” Strength, not to fight Sol, but to repress her so that she couldn’t break through. Lately, Anne’s appearance had only been changing in the normal ways- a little acne from her hormones settling back into the usual rhythm, a little more meat on her bones, her hair going first greasy and then clean, her body hair regrowing.

“I’m so glad,” said Alex. “But… I have so many questions.”

“Can they wait?” asked Anne. Her hands trembled, and her heart raced as Sol stirred in her mind.

“Yeah, of course, you can answer them when you’re comfortable,” said Alex. “But… at least tell me, what happened to Concorde? He’s like a dragon horse now.”

“He is a thestral,” said Anne. “That place warped his appearance.” Not the whole truth, but not exactly a lie, either.

“Oh,” said Alex. “That makes sense.” Anne breathed a silent sigh of relief. She didn’t like lying to her girlfriend, but she was too terrified of Sol to tell her the truth.

At last, a week and a few days later, Anne was strong enough to walk outside and sit in the sun with Alex. With the sun warming her skin, and Alex by her side, Anne finally overcame her fears.

“Alex, I’m ready to see the druids,” said Anne. Sol didn’t let her say why, but Alex saw the fear in her girlfriend’s eyes and understood.

“Okay,” said Alex. “We’ll teleport straight to the Secret Stone Circle?”

“Yes,” said Anne. Even if using her powers might help Sol, she had to nip this in the bud before Sol destroyed her.

“Ah, she arrives, just as I had foreseen,” said Fripp. Rage lanced through Anne, and she had to clench her hands into fists and grit her teeth.

“And what else did you foresee?” asked Anne. To her surprise, her rage felt… different. Sol was distant, muffled. Anne’s rage was purely her own. She jumped at the chance. “Did you see what happened to me there? That I had to get outside help? That I was trapped, alone and scared and defenceless, for YEARS?” She was shaking, and she could barely feel Alex’s hand on her back.

“I cannot see into Pandoria clearly, Anne,” said Fripp. “It is troubled there at the moment.”

“And do you know why?” asked Anne. “Do you know WHY it’s so chaotic there right now?”

“Yes,” said Elizabeth. “It is because we had no Sun Soul Rider here to keep the balance. Alex can monitor it, but not keep the balance. Only those with Sun magic can do that.”

“And you didn’t think to come rescue me?” Anne snapped. “If I’m so important, why wasn’t I your number one priority?”

“We didn’t know-“ Fripp began, but Anne spoke over him.

“TWO YEARS! You had two years to look for me, and you couldn’t find me!” Anne shouted at him. “Pandoria wasn’t chaotic then, why didn’t you look there? We always send THEM to Pandoria, why shouldn’t they do the same thing to us?” Her throat was starting to hurt, and she’d worry about her eyeliner running if she was wearing any, but she was too angry to stop. Her only relief was the fact that Sol couldn’t egg her on and awaken her new powers.

“We didn’t think of that,” said Elizabeth. Anne glared at her, and then saw a new girl cowering beside Lisa.

“And who is this?” asked Anne, pointing at the new girl. “Huh? Is she my replacement or something?”

“We didn’t know what had happened to you,” said Elizabeth. “So, in your absence, I took over the Sun Circle and started training a new Sun Soul Rider.”

“So you’d rather replace me than look for me?” asked Anne, sadness fuelling her fire now. “Wow, some friends you are.”

“Alex looked for you,” said Lisa.

“And YOU,” said Anne, pointing at her. “You left me there, you abandoned me.”

“Not on purpose,” said Lisa, looking hurt. “The Sleeping Widow saved me, and she could only save one person at a time.”

“Selfish bitch,” said Anne, though even she wasn’t sure who she was referring to.

“Meteor was there when you were and you’re not mad at him,” said Linda. 

“Who do you think let him out?” asked Anne. “With the last of my power before Concorde was dragged away from me again.”

“Thank you,” said Linda.

“And now the Soul Riders are whole again,” said Fripp. “We can move forward with our plans.”

“Gee, let a girl rest first,” said the new girl. Anne glared at her, and the girl paled and stepped closer to Lisa.

“Why, so you can continue to replace me?” asked Anne. “Fat chance. How dare you replace me, I’m irreplaceable.” She stalked over to the girl, fully intent on hitting her, but Alex grabbed her.

“Anne, hey, she didn’t know,” said Alex. “And anyway, we moved on to teaching her Lightning Circle stuff.”

“I never authorised that,” said Elizabeth.

“Then you truly did give up on me,” said Anne. She felt defeated now, her rage having died to embers. She could hear Sol’s voice again, and she couldn’t do anything about it. The druids had already given up on her. They didn’t even try to argue with her. Why should they help her with her problem? 

Anne left the meeting in a flash of white light, reappearing in a quiet valley with Alex holding her up as she collapsed to the ground in tears.

 _“I’ll kill her,”_ Sol whispered. Anne didn’t know who Sol was talking about, and she didn’t care. Sol was just all words, a reminder that she was broken now, and Anne pushed the thought to the back of her mind as she sobbed in Alex’s arms.

“I never gave up on you,” said Alex. “And… please don’t be mad at Louisa. The new girl. She’s innocent, really, and she helped me a lot when I was missing you. When I was being self-destructive to numb the pain of losing you. When I just needed a friend to talk to, someone who wasn’t already deeply entrenched in our world. Apart from the fact that Lisa was also missing and Linda was shattered after losing Meteor, so I had nobody to talk to.”

“I’m not mad at her,” said Anne, her voice still shaky and hoarse now from screaming earlier. “I’m mad at Elizabeth, and Fripp, and that selfish tree.”

“You knew the Sleeping Widow was a tree?” asked Alex.

“Of course I did,” said Anne, glad for the distraction. “The Ancient Tree roots reach into Pandoria, and they don’t shut up. By the way, if you are ever unfortunate enough to find yourself in a position where you have to sleep in Pandoria, don’t make the mistake of sleeping in a comfortable nest of tree roots or under a cluster of roots. They are very noisy.”

“Noted,” said Alex. “But you’re here now. You’re safe.”

“Yes, I am,” said Anne. “I’m with you. That’s all I ever wanted.”

Alex took Anne back to the manor and gave her some water, then some ice cream to soothe her throat and make her feel better. Anne fell asleep beside Alex on the couch while they watched the Jorvegian version of _The Bachelor_ (Anne loved it because of the sexy people, Alex enjoyed watching the women being petty and getting into cat fights), and Alex carried her to bed before she fell asleep beside her girlfriend.

In the dead of night, a dark figure arrived at the druid training paddock. The figure turned the corner, saw a flaming figure in the middle of the paddock, and screamed.

The lantern she’d been holding fell to the ground, shattered, beside the body. A cloven hoof crunched the glass, and a flame-wreathed face looked down at the crumpled form.

“You cannot replace me,” said Sol. “I am irreplaceable.”


	5. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of Sol's rampages are revealed.

Avalon felt a disturbance in the force when he awoke. Normally, he used this phrase when he was hungry. But today, something felt wrong. It felt like fire, and singed flesh, and screams in the night. Shoving his hands in the pockets of his cloak, Avalon sorted through stones in his pockets in an attempt to calm himself down. That one was quartz, lapis lazuli, a potato, an interesting rock that looked like a heart, a chunk of coal, some limestone, sandstone, ghost ore from Jon Jarl’s tomb…

The ripples of badness seemed to be coming from the druid training paddock, which had Avalon immediately on the alert. Had someone been training up here and suffered a terrible accident? Had somebody accidentally triggered the fire runes, or the shadow seekers, or the jump carousel?

What Avalon saw, though, was so much worse. He was at Elizabeth’s side in an instant, feeling at her neck for a pulse and her mouth for breath, and he almost sobbed in relief when he found them both present but weak.

“Elizabeth, what happened?” asked Avalon, taking her face in his hands. A single tear landed on her burnt face, and Avalon kissed her burnt forehead before he lifted her easily and teleported back to his cottage.

Inside his cottage, Avalon grabbed an ointment that soothed burns, and another that healed them. He was glad, now, that he’d braved the cold of Dino Valley a few times to venture in there to pick Icenthistle. It had gone into the soothing balm that he now applied to Elizabeth’s skin. She awoke with a gasp when the ointment first touched her forehead, and then she screamed.

Over at the Silverglade Equestrian Centre, things were a lot more peaceful. Anne sipped at honey tea while Alex sat beside her on the balcony, drinking coffee to wake herself up. It had been wonderfully refreshing to wake up beside Alex and not in that pink hell. It always was.

“I must admit, I am rather fond of this place,” said Anne. Her voice was raspy today, after she’d overexerted it screaming yesterday so soon after recovering from her illness.

“The manor is nice,” said Alex. “Are you sure you don’t want any toast?” She pushed the plate towards Anne, but her girlfriend shook her head.

“I’m not hungry,” said Anne. Sol had been quiet all morning, but there had been a smugness about it. Like she was waiting for something to happen. Anne couldn’t possibly eat when Sol was potentially plotting something. So she just swallowed her tea and was grateful for the way the honey soothed her throat.

“I can make you some porridge,” said Alex. “If it’s your throat that’s bothering you.”

“It’s not that,” said Anne, even though it partially was. “I’ll eat something later, don’t worry.”

“You’d better,” said Alex, and leaned over to kiss her cheek. Anne smiled, grateful for the tiny hints of warmth that Alex managed to bring out in her.

But then, the peace of the morning was broken by Alex’s phone vibrating on the table.

“You should probably get that,” said Anne.

“I don’t want to,” said Alex, but she did. “Hey, what’s up?”

Anne felt a chill as Sol found Alex’s phone call very amusing. She gripped the cup harder. Oh, Aideen. What had Sol done now?

“What? Do you know who did it? Okay, I’ll be right over.” Alex ended the call, then stood, running shaking hands through her hair.

“What is it?” asked Anne, looking up at her.

“Something attacked Elizabeth,” said Alex. “I have to go, will you be alright on your own? I don’t want you to travel farther than you have to when you’re this sick.”

“Is she okay?” asked Anne. Part of her wanted to go with Alex, but the rest of her knew. The rest of her had her knees shaking, and she was glad that Alex couldn’t see it under the little outdoor table.

“I dunno, Avalon just told me to come quickly,” said Alex. “Sorry about leaving you like this.”

“It’s fine,” said Anne. “You just go and see how Elizabeth is doing. Let me know how she is when you get back, okay?”

“Okay,” said Alex. She leaned down and kissed her. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Anne whispered, and smiled as she watched Alex leave. But the smile faded as soon as Alex had left, and she finished her tea and walked back inside to the bedroom.

_“There’s a reason why your girlfriend didn’t want you to come along.”_

“Shut up,” Anne whispered. Sol tutted.

_“You know, don’t you?”_

“No,” Anne whispered, closing her eyes. A pink-tinged tear fell.

_“Oh, get real, Anne, yes you do. You know that I had something to do with this. You woke up with dry skin and a dry mouth, remember? And you thought you’d been sunburned? Remember that? I know you do.”_

“What the hell did you do to her, you demon?” Anne whispered harshly, sitting on the bed and bracing herself. Sol showed her.

_The druid training paddock. Elizabeth approaching, her white face pale in the light thrown from the lantern. Fire. Elizabeth screaming as the flame engulfed her. Concorde standing over her, Sol on his back, speaking the words that Anne had once uttered when she’d been selfish and foolish and young._

“No!” Anne shouted, then winced as her throat protested at the volume. She pressed her hand to her throat, and had to resist the urge to wrap it around her neck and squeeze. She sobbed, curling up on her side on the bed.

 _“And Elizabeth saw you,”_ said Sol. Anne sobbed into the pillow, staining it pink.

“She saw you,” Anne whispered.

 _“And who do I look like, princess?”_ Anne shivered.

“I’ll tell them the truth,” said Anne.

 _“I’ll steal the breath from your lungs,”_ said Sol, and suddenly Anne was gasping, clawing at her chest as her lungs screamed for air. She coughed when air rushed in. _“Consider that your only warning.”_

Alex arrived at Avalon’s cottage quickly, having ridden at a gallop the whole way there. She dismounted Tin Can, leaving him in the yard, and walked into Avalon’s cottage without knocking. She hurried to his potions room, where she’d suspected he’d be, and had to cover her mouth with her hand at what she saw. 

Elizabeth’s skin looked badly burnt, and her eyebrows were missing. Half of her hair was missing, too, having been scorched off.

“What happened?” asked Alex.

“It was Anne,” said Elizabeth, her voice a dry rasp like Anne’s had been.

“Don’t be stupid,” said Alex. “Anne wouldn’t have done that. And besides, she was in bed all night with me.”

“I know what I saw,” said Elizabeth.

“But it was night, how can you be so sure?” asked Alex.

“It is no use trying to convince her, Elizabeth, you know how stubborn she is,” said Avalon. To Alex, he said, “Elizabeth was attacked last night at the druid training paddock. She went up there to investigate some strange lights and noises, and she saw a burning woman on a thestral. The woman attacked Elizabeth.”

“Maybe it was Dark Core,” said Alex. “Their base was just destroyed, so they’re probably afraid and have started to come after us. And we don’t know what the other Dark Horses look like, only Sabine’s and Nihili’s, so they could have a thestral.”

“Just be on your guard anyway, okay?” said Avalon. “I’ll contact you if we find out more.”

“Okay,” said Alex with a nod, and returned outside. She ran her fingers through her hair, chewing on her lower lip, before she mounted Tin Can and rode him back to the manor. Concorde was a thestral now, but… it couldn’t have been Anne. Elizabeth had to have gotten it wrong, maybe the fright and the pain had clouded her mind. Yeah. That had to be it.

Far away, and yet not so far after all, a man picked up a newspaper from a kiosk in Fort Pinta. He handed the vendor some shillings, then walked down to the beach and sat down on the edge of the swimming area to read. _‘Dark Core Ruined’_ , the headline proclaimed. The man read the story, smirking at how good it all sounded. An explosion to do with mining had destroyed the Dark Core base after a spark had ignited an oil tank. Yes, that was very feasible. The mortals would buy that excuse, far from the truth though it may be. There would be no investigation, of course, as Dark Core had hired their own team of private investigators. Or at least, that was the story. In truth, nobody had investigated the accident, because nobody had been able to get close to the site of the accident. Anybody who tried had frustratingly found their vessels veering off-course, and the sea life was far too dangerous there to risk scuba diving.

Something broke the surface of the water near the man’s feet, and he looked down at the black hair like an ink spill in the water. It looked better like this, but she never bothered brushing her hair so it always looked awful when dry.

“Have they bought the story?” asked Sabine.

“It’s too early to tell,” said Mr Sands. “But I think so. Nobody has asked for an interview, and nobody has been able to get close enough to see.”

“Good,” said Sabine. “Now what?”

“Now, either go away or change into your human form so that people don’t see a mermaid in the water,” said Mr Sands. “It is the middle of the day, Sabine.”

“But that’s my cover story,” said Sabine, showing off sharp teeth as she grinned.

“If your sisters can survive on fresh fish, so can you,” said Mr Sands. “Now, shoo. I thought you’d be angrier about missing your chance to get Nihili back.”

“Oh, I’m _furious_ ,” said Sabine. “But for now, I’m going to take out my rage on innocent humans.”

“Just don’t be too obvious,” said Mr Sands.

“I’ll be careful,” said Sabine. “So, what’s next for you? You’ve lost your little experiment.”

“Oh, have I?” asked Mr Sands. “Later today, I’m going to pay a visit to my lovely son and his family. Or perhaps I will visit one of my other children.”

“My son won’t be happy about that,” said Sabine.

“Then your son should have done a better job of guarding Anne,” said Mr Sands, kicking out at her. Sabine hissed and swam away, disappearing under the water and slapping a passing ferry with her red-scaled tail. Mr Sands sighed as many people gasped and pointed. So much for remaining inconspicuous.

When Alex arrived back at the manor, she was alarmed to hear her girlfriend sobbing through the bedroom door.

“Anne?” Alex called, entering the room and heading straight over to the bed where her girlfriend lay sobbing. She looked so hopeless and helpless, her entire body shaking as more tears stained the pillow she was hugging. “Anne, what’s wrong?” Alex put her hand on Anne’s shoulder, and Anne sniffled.

“I can’t tell you,” said Anne, her lower lip trembling. Alex hugged her, letting Anne cry onto her shoulder. She pushed away the doubts. Avalon and Elizabeth were wrong. They had to be wrong. Anne was sick, there was no way that she could be that fiery woman. Absolutely no way.


	6. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mr Sands attempts to reconnect with his family.

Mr Sands could feel the strong, protective energy as he stepped off the beach and onto the grass of Moorland. He frowned. That was strange. Sabine hadn't mentioned the protective energy, but then, she had been rather busy organising how to separate Justin from his father and then convince him to join the dark side. Or perhaps this energy simply had not been here before. Regardless, Sands would not be a General if he was defeated by a few simple wards.

Bracing himself, Sands strode towards the stables, taking a long route around a pole-bending course where a young man looked at him curiously before a young woman distracted his attention. Sands noted this minor detail for future use- apparently, the 'distract people with an attractive person' trick still worked just as well now as it had back when the other three Generals had been primarily sirens. On his way past a large, empty paddock that a few young girls rode around in, Sands heard a disturbance.

"You ask him!"

"No, you!"

"Tan, come on, please?"

"No! Why can't you do something for once, Loretta?"

"I'd ask Louisa only she's not here right now."

"Ugh, fine. Hey, uh, mister, excuse me." Mr Sands looked down as a young girl, a teenager by the looks of her, stepped in front of him and folded her arms in front of her chest. It was obvious that she was trying to look cool, but she had some hay in her brown hair, which spoiled the illusion.

"Yes?" said Mr Sands, trying not to sound too gruff. If he frightened this girl, she might scream or go running to tell Mr Moorland, and he wanted this to go as smoothly as possible.

"Like, who are you?" asked the girl. "I've never seen you around here before."

"I am..." Curses, he'd already used up all of his aliases. "A family friend."

"Right," said Tan, looking to a blonde girl (clearly the queen bee on her white Arabian gelding). The blonde frowned, pursing her lips in thought.

"I've come to see the owner of these stables, Mr Moorland," said Mr Sands. "Is he around?"

"Why do you want to see him?" asked the blonde girl, riding up to him and staring down at him from where she sat high up on her horse.

"Oh, it's a family matter," said Mr Sands. "I am his father." At that, the girl's cold blue eyes suddenly blazed with anger.

"You're the one who took my Justin away!" she shouted, pointing an accusatory finger at him. She was shaking. "You and that weird girl who came from the winery. Get out of here!"

"I simply wanted to know where my son is," said Mr Sands. "You see, he has a mobile phone, but he has not been answering my calls."

"Huh! I can't imagine why," said the blonde girl. "Tan, keep him here, I'm going to get Conrad." She rode off at a gallop, and Mr Sands had to jump out of the way.

"Loretta!" Tan complained, and then looked fearfully at Mr Sands. Darn. So much for that plan.

"Do you know where he is, by any chance?" asked Mr Sands. "I would like to stage a little family reunion."

"Don't ask me," said Tan. "I slept in this morning, he and Justin were gone before I woke up."

"Ah, well that's too bad, then," said Mr Sands. "Thank you for your time."

"Wait!" Tan called, but he was already walking off, headed back to the beach to both avoid the blacksmith and get out of the range of the protective wards that were making him weaker by the minute.

"Any luck?" asked Sabine when Mr Sands returned to the house boat where they'd set up their temporary quarters while their oil rig was nothing but iron bars on the ocean floor.

"What do you think?" asked Mr Sands, glaring at her with such intensity that she almost flinched. And she would have flinched, if Sabine had any sense of self-preservation.

"Well, darn, I guess your plan failed," said Sabine, not sounding in the least sorry for him. "Now what?"

"Now, we search for him," said Mr Sands.

"Really?" asked Sabine. "You don't want to immediately go to Plan B? Or should that be Plan A? Nah, Ana's a bitch, she's Plan B."

"Not yet," said Mr Sands. "I want to find my son and grandson first. You search the water ways, I will search on land. Come to me if you find anything."

"Alright," said Sabine. "I'm not doing anything important, anyway."

"Of course you're not, you're... what are you doing?" asked Mr Sands.

"Painting my nails," said Sabine, showing off her bright red fingernails. Mr Sands sighed.

"Just go look for my family," said Mr Sands. "I might be able to find them from my plane." Sabine snorted.

"Good luck," said Sabine.

"You know I have the eyes of an eagle when I wish," said Mr Sands. After he saw Sabine slip into the water (he averted his eyes while she stripped off, knowing that Nihili would claw his eyes out when she came back and found out), he left for the Firgrove mountains, where he kept the plane that had flown over Jorvik so many times now. It looked old, but nobody had noticed it yet. Or, if they had, they hadn't drawn any attention to it. Sometimes, Mr Sands saw horses looking up at it, but they couldn't do anything about it. After all, they were just horses.

As he flew over Silverglade, Mr Sands looked down at the land that he would have inherited one day. And now, his grandson would inherit it. All that remained was to ensure that his grandson had the right powers, and wouldn't be swayed by the druids. There were plenty of places in Silverglade that were hot spots for Pandoric activity, especially that little village. After Katja had been brought back to them, Mr Sands had heard that Garnok had taken his anger out on Silverglade Village. Now, though, it was like nothing had ever happened.

Leaning out of his plane, Mr Sands saw a blonde girl with burning pink eyes staring up at him, her mouth open in shock. He glared at her, vowing the sweetest revenge once he had his army amassed. And once he had a new base of operations, of course.

All of a sudden, the plane lurched and dipped to one side, and Mr Sands steadied it in time to see the siren gripping to the wing.

"Sabine!" he roared, immediately casting a spell to shroud them in darkness (to onlookers below, it would look like a dark cloud). "At least try to be inconspicuous!"

"Sorry," said Sabine, disappearing to reappear inside the body of the plane. "You said to come to you if I found something, so I did." Mr Sands fumed, but had to admit that she was right.

"And what did you find?" asked Mr Sands.

"I found Thomas' hat," said Sabine. "No Thomas or Justin, but I guess it's a start."

"Well, it's better than nothing," said Mr Sands. "Where is it?"

"At the Fort Pinta docks, where the South Hoof ferry leaves from," said Sabine.

"I didn't know that ferry was still running," said Mr Sands.

"Yeah, it got fixed up a while ago," said Sabine.

"Then they might have caught the ferry over to there," said Mr Sands. "Let's go." He cast a spell to return the plane to its secret hangar hidden inside the Firgrove mountains, and then another spell to transport himself and Sabine to the Fort Pinta ferry docks. They emerged from behind some large rocks, knowing that nobody would have seen them, and quickly made their way to where Sabine had found the hat. Sabine was walking now, having returned to her human form. Fortunately, her avatar spell included clothing, so she didn't have to find any.

"Oh good, it's still here," said Sabine.

"You left it here?" asked Mr Sands, frowning. "Anyone could have taken it."

"Yeah, well, they didn't," said Sabine. "Oh, good, here comes the ferry now."

The two of them walked onto the ferry, and Mr Sands took a seat on one of the purple compartments while Sabine stood at the front of the ferry to see where they were going and enjoy the ocean spray in her face. Mr Sands stared at a horse, who stared back at him. There was no rider, just the horse, but Mr Sands had seen stranger things on Jorvik.

At last, on the other side, Mr Sands stepped off the ferry and immediately walked up a flight of stairs. Sabine followed him, clearly puzzled at the determination in his stride.

"Do you know where you're going?" asked Sabine, struggling to catch up with him. She really should have brought Kaahn, but he was currently reforming in Devil's Gap with Stalker and the other two Dark Horses.

"Of course I do," said Mr Sands. "My son used to come here all the time when he was younger, he loved it here. He'll be either at the tree, or with the hermit."

But Thomas and Justin were not at either place.

"Where is he, then?" asked Mr Sands after the hermit had told him that Justin and Thomas had been and gone. "I've chased my son halfway across this cursed place."

"Ehm... I believe that, eh, Louisa girl took him," said the hermit. "Or, no... he went to see the druids with his father. You, ehm, just missed him."

"Fuck," Mr Sands cursed, kicking at a clump of grass.

"Did we really?" asked Sabine. "Or do you have him in that cottage?" She frowned at the building, and the hermit stepped back towards it.

"No, there is nothing of interest to you in that cottage," said the hermit.

"Oh yeah? What if we searched it?" asked Sabine, stepping closer to him. The hermit stammered for something to say, but Mr Sands grabbed Sabine by the wrist and dragged her away.

"There's no time to faff about, we have to try and find Justin and Thomas before it's too late," said Mr Sands.

Behind them, a pale face framed with black hair appeared at the window. With her hair down and no make up on, Jessica looked different. But the look of fear on her face was the most out of place thing. Fortunately, though, neither Sands nor Sabine saw her, but it had been close.

The Secret Stone Circle was more heavily warded than any other place on Jorvik (except, perhaps, Guardian's Dale), and so the Generals were not able to get close enough to overhear the meeting. But they could see it, from where Sands hovered as a raven and Sabine floated, hiding herself among the clouds. They saw Justin being led away by the druids and Elizabeth Sunbeam, and Mr Sands puffed up with rage (it would have looked funny were it not for the waves of malevolence emanating from him).

After the meeting, Sands and Sabine flew to the other side of the Golden Hills for which the valley got its name, and Sands screamed his fury to the air as he paced around the empty landscape, kicking stones and cursing Fripp and the druids. Sabine watched him, trying to figure out what to do next. Once he'd calmed down, she spoke to him.

"Now do we go to Plan B?" asked Sabine. Mr Sands nodded.

"Yes," said Mr Sands. "Now we go to Plan B."

Anastasia Silverglade looked up with irritation as a bird landed on the table. The magpies and other such birds were always bothering her whenever she sat at a cafe, honestly, couldn't a girl drink her coffee in peace? She shooed it away with a wave of her hand, and the crow hopped back onto the seat opposite her. And then, in an instant, the bird was a man. A familiar man.

"Hi, daddy," said Anastasia, giving him a broad grin. "I haven't seen you in ages! Where have you been? Have you met my Prince Charming?"

"I was busy," said Mr Sands. "Now, I need you to do something for me."

"Anything," said Anastasia, still grinning brightly.

"I need you to find an empty warehouse for me," said Mr Sands. "You're a resourceful girl, I'm sure it's well within your ability to find me one. My old place of business... was destroyed in an oil fire."

"Oh, no," said Anastasia with a gasp, putting her hands over his. "Well, don't worry, daddy, I'm sure I can find something. After all, I'm Anastasia Silverglade. My brother can help me with all of that nasty paperwork." Mr Sands smiled.

"Thank you, Ana," said Mr Sands. "You truly are my favourite child." The grin Anastasia gave him was dazzling, so much so that it almost masked the dark creature lurking underneath.


End file.
